As far as Demetrious Johnson was concerned, the scouting report on John Dodson was to take him into deep waters, sure that Dodson could not carry his explosiveness into the final moments of a tense fight. And as the UFC on FOX 6 flyweight title bout began, it soon became clear that Johnson would have to be right. As Dodson got off to a strong start, Johnson's room for error narrowed until there was almost none left.

When Johnson was knocked down in the second, his challenge grew. But slowly, the tide turned. The spring in Johnson's legs lessened, and the explosion on his punches turned to a lesser pop. And that was Johnson's time to take over. Time to shine.

Those final 10 minutes -- the "championship rounds" -- were all his. Johnson is one of the rarest breeds in fight sports who can fight at maximum RPMs from beginning to end. And when Dodson couldn't keep up, Johnson took total control.

Battering Dodson from the clinch with knees to the head and body, Johnson dominated the fourth and fifth rounds, and captured a unanimous decision at the United Center in Chicago.

isk »
Posted 12/5/07 12:38:00PM

Got in late and missed a few of the prelims. Reading the recaps, there were some nice surprise finishes. Onward!

Demetrious Johnson over John Dodson, 5R decision - Easily DJ's best performance to date, showing both the career-long resilience and mid-fight adjustments that set him above everyone else at Flyweight. Dodson was always in it, and had his moments early, countering and staggering DJ very well. The problem was that he let the champ fight his fight, and you can't let Johnson be the aggressor. Probably the most signficant rounds were the championship ones, as Johnson landed over 30 knees to the head and body from the Thai clinch. Dodson looked to be in trouble especially in R5, but he kept going and even smiled through the damage. And he showed a great positive attitude at the end, gracefully agreeing with the decision and letting his coaches know it was okay. The only real knock on the champ was the illegal knee late in the fight, but it's mitigated by both his lack of visibility from that position and the fact that Dodson was quite fine afterwards. DJ looks better and better with each fight, and at this point, it's hard to find someone who more completely embodies the idea of a mixed martial artist.

Glover Teixeira over Rampage Jackson, 3R decision - Went the way most of us expected, Rampage showing a reminder of how good he was for a long time but was ultimately outclassed by a sharper, more durable, more diverse Teixeira. I liked Rampage's jab in R1 and I felt his ability to duck and parry may lead to a counter KO, but Glover adapted excellently and started clipping Rampage with shots to the temple and liver. His takedowns in R3 were basically uncontested, as Rampage absorbed a lot of damage and was running on pure heart. And of course, great show of class at the end, with both guys giving each other props. Rampage also showed some of the humor we know him for, with a facetious victory pose right before the winner was called. What's next for Glover? I'd say the winner of Gustafsson / Mousasi for the next title shot (after Machida / Henderson). He's rising fast and still looks great, and while I think a title eliminator isn't out of the question, it should happen soon for a guy who's approaching his mid-30s.

Anthony Pettis over Donald Cerrone, TKO at R1 2:35 - Very impressive performance by Pettis, exposing a couple of the small chinks in Cerrone's game. Cowboy has one of the best chins in the sport, and he can pick apart less skilled strikers if they wing their punches or give him time to strike. He can falter under superior pressure, though, and one of the select strikes that works against guys with good chins is the Bas Rutten liver shot. No shame in how much damage he took, really, as any one of those kicks would've folded most fighters - nah, it's really in that I think he needs to be more aggressive against the top guys. He can't sit back and get comfortable, because the best at 155 are too confident. For Pettis, well, I want to see him fight for the belt for a number of reasons. I'd be okay with a title eliminator, or a fight against another surging guy like TJ Grant, Edson Barboza, or (presuming he gets signed) Eddie Alvarez. But the WEC fan in me wants to see Bendo / Pettis 2. And 3. and 4.

Ricardo Lamas over Erik Koch, TKO at R2 2:32 - I've rarely seen such an intimidating striker get split open like this. Lamas took advantage of Koch's mistake early in R2, diving into a takedown and stacking him up correctly before unleashing God's own thunder from the heavens. Koch's still a solid fighter; he just took his time a little too much at the start, and once on the ground, he let Lamas stack him up with relative ease. This was one fight I wish was on PPV, so we could've gotten better footage of that cut. Not to delight in Koch's misfortune specifically, it's just one of the more violent finishes in a while.

TJ Grant over Matt Wiman, KO at R1 4:51 - Grant continues to abuse and manhandle whomever he fights, as he bludgeons Wiman with standing elbows and tight striking. A bit of a questionable strategy from Wiman, who's not only a skilled grappler but a smart fighter in general. One thing I noticed in this fight that wasn't as evident in the Dunham bout was how big Grant is at 155. 5'11" is very tall at that weight class, and Grant's shown no negative effects from the weight cut .

Clay Guida over Hatsu Hioki, 3R decision - I don't want to say Hioki got robbed here, but...wait, yes I do. Granted, I think Hioki should've stuck with his torso forward, legs back stance he showed in early R1, as that enabled him to not only stay aggresisve and long on the feet but more easily sprawl out of Guida's takedown attempts. But he absolutely controlled Guida on the ground and threw up some excellent submission attempts that (to his credit) Guida narrowly defended. To me this was even worse than Johnson / Torres, as Hioki had a clear striking edge on the feet as well. Hioki isn't turning out to be the world beater some hyped him as, but he was the better fighter tonight.

kopower »
Posted 7/3/07 12:31:00AM

I'm usually not the biggest fan of the lighter weight fights, but Dodson and MM put on a hell of a back and forth show.

_______________________________________Billy Madison-

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in the playground is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no props, and may the mods have mercy on your soul.

sparky »
Posted 7/5/07 6:21:00PM

Posted by kopower

I'm usually not the biggest fan of the lighter weight fights, but Dodson and MM put on a hell of a back and forth show.

I agree

This event was solid from start to finish, and Johnson vs. Dodson could possibly have been the best fight on the night. Great way to finish the card off

FastKnockout »
Posted 9/24/10 8:39:00PM

Posted by kopower

I'm usually not the biggest fan of the lighter weight fights, but Dodson and MM put on a hell of a back and forth show.

Give me an example of one lighter weight fight that hasn't been entertaining? Because most of em are like tonight.

sbulldavid »
Posted 3/8/08 5:44:00PM

I'm not a big fan of the lighter weights because it's so much about defense, and they never seem to show their ground game other than GnP

kopower »
Posted 7/3/07 12:31:00AM

Posted by FastKnockout

Posted by kopower

I'm usually not the biggest fan of the lighter weight fights, but Dodson and MM put on a hell of a back and forth show.

Give me an example of one lighter weight fight that hasn't been entertaining? Because most of em are like tonight.

For some reason, I just never got into Maynard/Edgar. I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I really had no interest in their 3rd fight; even though it was a crazy back and forth war.

_______________________________________Billy Madison-

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in the playground is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no props, and may the mods have mercy on your soul.

Manak »
Posted 6/29/07 12:28:00PM

Posted by isk

Clay Guida over Hatsu Hioki, 3R decision - I don't want to say Hioki got robbed here, but...wait, yes I do. Granted, I think Hioki should've stuck with his torso forward, legs back stance he showed in early R1, as that enabled him to not only stay aggresisve and long on the feet but more easily sprawl out of Guida's takedown attempts. But he absolutely controlled Guida on the ground and threw up some excellent submission attempts that (to his credit) Guida narrowly defended. To me this was even worse than Johnson / Torres, as Hioki had a clear striking edge on the feet as well. Hioki isn't turning out to be the world beater some hyped him as, but he was the better fighter tonight.

deff thought Hioki got rubbed but another cause of lay n pray gets the nod over doing more off your back.

prb in the minority here but clay guida is boring to watch for me, hides his lay n pray with jumping around a lot

isk »
Posted 12/5/07 12:38:00PM

more like clay & pray

amirite

Bubbles »
Posted 10/20/09 3:33:00PM

Posted by isk

What's next for Glover? I'd say the winner of Gustafsson / Mousasi for the next title shot (after Machida / Henderson). He's rising fast and still looks great, and while I think a title eliminator isn't out of the question, it should happen soon for a guy who's approaching his mid-30s.

I disagree. Jones (assuming he beats Sonnen) needs new contenders. Right now we have 3 in Glover, Gustafsson/Mousasi winner and Hendo/Machida winner. After Hendo/Machida should be Gustafsson/Mousasi, then Glover...so feed him someone like Nedkov/Watson winner to keep him in fighting shape

_______________________________________The best cure for insomnia is a lot of sex. Even if it doesn't end up putting you to sleep, you don't mind so much

Men be careful, female sexual predators are using a date rape drug called a Blowjob to trap men into scams called relationships.

prophecy033 »
Posted 7/4/07 4:41:00AM

Posted by kopower

I'm usually not the biggest fan of the lighter weight fights, but Dodson and MM put on a hell of a back and forth show.

im opening my eyes to these little mofos. The have cardio like no other and are pretty damn technical. Definitely deserved FOTN

_______________________________________

prozacnation1978 »
Posted 7/5/07 11:42:00PM

Great fight a lot better than mighty vs Joe b

Guida didn't look good. He hasn't since his fight with bendo

Most impressive of the night may have been lamas With grant right behind him.

airkerma »
Posted 1/6/10 12:05:00PM

Posted by FastKnockout

Posted by kopower

I'm usually not the biggest fan of the lighter weight fights, but Dodson and MM put on a hell of a back and forth show.

Give me an example of one lighter weight fight that hasn't been entertaining? Because most of em are like tonight.

Smart man, this FastKO character Another nice write up isk.Made a cool $70 on DJ

_______________________________________

jaguar_paw »
Posted 12/29/07 12:04:00PM

Obviously in the minority here but thought the title fight was the 2nd worst fight of the night (I'm trying to get that horrible Guida fight out of my memory).

I just hate the style of jump around with "quick feet" like a coked up monkey and jump in and out with short combinations and then hop around again. Just HATE the idea of going for points on every round to get your win. You know these guys are great fighters but they refuse to fight and just play the point game instead. Maybe I am just a "fight" fan and not a points fan, idk.

The way I see it, Dodson clearly won the first two rounds. Johnson clearly won the 5th round.The third was close enough to call a draw.The biggest strike of round 4 was an illegal knee that Johnson was never penalized for, and then Dodson was forced to fight 7 more minutes after the damage was already done.To me, the fight was a draw. Dodson gets the win if the illegal knee was deducted.10-910-910-109-10*9-10